New Zealand 128 for 9 (Plimmer 33, Dottin 4-22, Fletcher 2-23) beat West Indies 120 for 8 (Dottin 33, Carson 3-29, Kerr 2-14) by eight runs

New Zealand stormed into the final of the Women’s T20 World Cup after 14 years, beating the 2016 champions West Indies by eight runs in a low-scoring thriller in Sharjah. New Zealand will meet the 2023 edition’s runners-up South Africa as the tournament is set for a first-time champion.

New Zealand were not flawless, having dropped five catches in the field but the bowlers still found a way to restrict West Indies to 120 for 8.

Carson makes early inroads

Carson has been New Zealand’s go-to powerplay bowler, having taken four of her five wickets prior to the semi-final in this phase. On Friday, she once again set the tone with the ball. After conceding two fours to Qiana Joseph, the offspinner bowled a length ball on middle that spun past the batter’s swipe to knock her stumps. Soon 16 for no loss became 20 for 2 when Carson darted one full and wide of off for Shemaine Campbelle to step out and miscue one towards extra cover, where Suzie Bates ran in and pulled off a diving catch. The wickets had slowed West Indies down with Matthews and Taylor moving at a snail’s pace. Carson came back again for the eighth over when both Matthews and Taylor smashed a four each to pick up pace but the offspinner had the last laugh, bowling Taylor for a 20-ball 13 after she mistimed a slog sweep. Eventually, she ended with 3 for 22.

Dottin rips through New Zealand

It didn’t matter that Dottin was bowling only for the second time in this T20 World Cup. She put her decade-long experience to use on a pitch that was not too slow or tough to bat on. She bowled mostly full and straight and mixed it cleverly with slower deliveries which was enough to trouble New Zealand. Dottin struck on her second ball to remove Kerr for a 11-ball 7 after New Zealand’s sedate start. But Brooke Halliday and Devine’s quick starts brought them; the duo adding 27 off the next 15 balls. At that stage New Zealand looked good for a 150 score.

But in Dottin’s second over, the 15th, swung the momentum of the game towards West Indies. There was a short break in play after Halliday was hit on her left foot by a throw from deep midwicket. And that was enough for Dottin to recalibrate. She fired in a yorker the next ball, Halliday missed jamming it down and saw her off stump pegged back. She fell for a nine-ball 18. In the following over, Afy Fletcher dismissed Devine for a run-a-ball 12 and New Zealand, at 98 for 5, needed Maddy Green and Isabella Gaze to step up. But Dottin denied that opportunity as she sent back Green and then trapped Rosemary Mair lbw with the help of DRS. At 104 for 7, New Zealand had lost the plot.

West Indies dominate the powerplay

Matthews was happy to bowl first, which was evident in the way they started with the ball. In the first six overs, bowled equally by spin and pace, West Indies kept New Zealand quiet, leaking just 32 runs. Fast bowler Chinelle Henry bowled three of her four overs inside the powerplay, hitting the hard lengths and extracting movement in the air and off the surface to not let Bates and Georgia Plimmer get going. Two of New Zealand’s three fours in this phase were freebies – a full toss off Zaida James and an overpitched delivery from Henry. Plimmer struggled to find her timing early on while Bates tried to move across and come down the track to find quick runs but to little effect.

However slow the start was, New Zealand later made up with the ball to move one step closer to the elusive title.